Filipinos’ Bumpy But Happy Ride ‘On This Side of the World’
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The cast of On This Side of the World performs “One Way Ticket” at East West Players (Photo by Jenny Graham).
More than a few American-born Filipinos have tolerated uninvited guesses to their nationality. Apologies accepted, no hard feelings, the world keeps on turning. But for Filipino immigrants, life remains a bumpy ride as they navigate their new surroundings far from home. Six actors play airline passengers with one-way tickets from Manila and suitcases filled with stories and dreams they bring with them to the United States. They sing their American dreams and longings for home in the new musical “On This Side of the World.”
The journey of these individuals, all different but from the same country, is a “celebration of what it means to be human with stories of how we all deal with change and build community,” according to Noam Shapiro, the New York City native who directed the East West Players musical that premiered on May 14th at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Los Angeles. The show has been extended through June 10th.
Paulo K Tiról and Noam Shapiro work on On This Side of the World at the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat in upstate New York in July 2022. RWR is a prestigious fully-funded residency for musical theatre writers, and On This Side of the World was one of eight projects chosen from among 149 submissions for the residency that year (Photo by Paulo K Tiról).
Stories Rooted in Filipino Optimism
The book was written and original score composed by Paulo Tiról, a Jersey City resident by way of Quezon City. He’s the son of editor/journalist Lorna Kalaw-Tiról originally from Manila and the late journalist/newspaper publisher Vic Tiról, born in Ibajay in Aklan Province.
Paulo K Tiról with his parents, Manila-based journalists Vicente Tirol and Lorna Kalaw-Tirol, on his graduation day from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in May 2015. Paulo started writing On This Side of the World while working on his MFA in Musical Theatre Writing (Photo by Jeremy Stanton).
Steeped in the choral music tradition of the Philippine church, Tiról, 45, spotlights the song “The Fiesta State of Mind” as symbolic of the Filipino spirit. “This musical number captures the unbridled optimism of Filipinos and our gift for smiling through everything.” He cites the lyrical lines:
A party is a party if you party fancy or party unrefined.
That’s the fiesta state of mind.
We’ll get through each day
and it’s thanks all the way
in which we Filipinos are designed.
That’s the fiesta state of mind.
In 2023, Norway may be the happiest country, but Filipinos have always been the happiest people. These songful hopers fascinated Shapiro the first time he encountered “On This Side of the World” as Tiról workshopped the story and songs at Music Theatre Factory.
“I’m always looking for new stories. This story depicts the sacrifices Filipino immigrants make for their families and the greater good.” In terms of representation and specificity to elevate a community, Shapiro says, “The stories the passengers tell on the plane showed me the way the Pinoy spirit of optimism and joy prevails through the darkest moments. The show is a testament to the resilience of Filipino immigrants.”
The cast of On This Side of the World performs “Hold On/In Mid-Air” at East West Players (Photo by Jenny Graham)
Well Worth a Flight Across the Country to See
In one evening, “On This Side of the World” conveyed to Shapiro an underappreciated part of the Filipino character. The Pinoy Paradox: No matter how sad, a Filipino life is always happy.
Bibingka, yaya, kilig, rice queen and ‘sus Maria. They’re a few of the keywords of Filipino life that are brought to life in two and a half hours. The Tagalog lessons are secondary to God, family and joy as the intrinsic parts of the Filipino character that enable the immigrants to persevere in a new land. Some of them express their hopes for the future while others glimpse the pain and rewards that lie ahead.
Cassie Simone as Dee-Dee (center) performs “Yaya (Wish You Were Here)” with Zandi De Jesus (left) and Andrea Somera (right) in On This Side of the World at East West Players (Photo by Jenny Graham).
While the musical was created with a Filipino audience in mind, Tiról points out that the story has universal appeal. Throughout the decade since “On This Side of the World” was first conceived as a musical theater project in graduate school at New York University, the story has gained fans who are bonded by the strangeness and adventure of being in a new place.
“What the Filipino experience has in common with other immigrant experiences is a feeling of displacement and finding a new home,” says Tiról. “The story is about the very relatable journey of finding a way to belong.”
Validating his intentions, he says, “I’ve heard back from all kinds of immigrants whether they’re from Latin America, Africa or persons who moved from other parts of the United States to Los Angeles.”
Amoeba Brain
The cast and creative team of the world premiere production of On This Side of the World at East West Players, during a break in rehearsal in April 2023. Standing, L to R: co-music directors Jen Lin and Marc Macalintal; assistant director Vivi Le; production stage manager Edward Khris Fernandez; cast members Justine Rafael, Michael C. Palma, Melvin Biteng, and Zandi de Jesus. On the floor, L to R: assistant stage manager Mikayla Bittner; choreographer Allen Lucky Weaver; cast members Andrea Somera, Steven-Adam Agdeppa, Cassie Simone, Shaun Tuazon; director and co-creator Noam Shapiro; composer and lyricist Paulo K Tiról (Photo by Andy Lowe).
The casting challenge was to find six Fil-Am actors to perform 40 parts and 29 musical numbers.
“My priority as a creator and director was to find actors who could be chameleons and transform themselves from one character to the next in a blink,” says Shapiro. “Each of the six actors has two to three solos. They’re talented professionals who can play comedy as well as tragedy. They had to do everything.”
He overheard cast members use the term “amoeba brain” to describe the fluid manner in which they fused their individual performances together into one moving enterprise. “On This Side of the World’ became a seamless medley of distinct stories achieved by the chemistry between three men and three women.
Six storytellers and singers in Los Angeles deftly handle material that’s lyrically and vocally demanding. They bare their souls with gusto accompanied by cinematic light on a naked stage.
“When we were developing the show, Noam was an amazing dramaturge. He urged me to make everything active.” Tiról says, “That meant throwing out lots of songs that were motionless.”
The lyricist learned to suppress his ego whenever he had to dump a clever turn of phrase to propel the story forward. “I remind myself that I’m trying to tell a story with compassion. I’m not trying to shout, Hey! Look what I can do.
“A song couldn’t sit in the same feeling for a long stretch.” Tiról elaborates, “The moment a number accomplishes its purpose, the actor has to move on. Our actors have the talent to execute these momentous shifts. They were insightful and adept at subtlety. I was amazed by their ability to communicate an acute shift in the story with as little as a tilt of the head.”
Heady and Heavy Stuff
The stories tackle some heavy ideas. The hard work of a tito gives personal meaning to the material things he purchases for his spoiled nephews and nieces in the Philippines. Cooking can bring back people we’ve lost or left behind. See why a simple parol or paper star is a thoughtful gift for Americans to acknowledge the sacrifices a Filipino immigrant makes for their comfort.
And yes, not-so-heavy ideas: Is church a place of worship or gossip? A glittering “rice queen” demonstrates how drag generates the excitement that’s missing from standup comedy and in a harmless way, answers the universal question of why Filipinos are drawn to corrupt leaders who satisfy an innate hunger for glamorous drama even at the expense of avoidable misery. Pardon the digression but Ferdinand and Imelda’s son offers the potential for a sequel to a political opera that took an uprising to close. One can argue that the price of a ticket to this East West Players production is much less than the price of a Philippine vote.
Steven-Adam Agdeppa as Miggy performs “Rice Queens” in On This Side of the World at East West Players (Photo by Jenny Graham).
I can spend hours describing other minutes of amusement and brilliance that take place in two exhilarating acts. Whether born here or abroad, Filipinos will experience what they’ve lost and can possibly recapture in America.
The collaboration between Filipino Jersey and quick-witted NYC isn’t basking in the limelight from the critical acclaim for “On This Side of the World. Tiról and Shapiro trust Fil-Ams across the U.S. to support their first production while they develop new musical works.
Reconnect with Your Eternal Optimist NOW
Jump now to the East West Players website for ticket information. Look at it this way. A ticket to see eight historic characters in “Hamilton” will cost you the price of Ted Lasso’s sneakers. “On This Side of the World” gives you 40 Filipinos for the price of a pair of Skechers. You can probably name a dozen Filipinos in National City who could use a pair of loafers. You know, the kind you insert a penny in the tongue for good luck.
Folks in cities outside of Los Angeles should ask their local theater director to explore “On This Side of the World” for their 2024 season lineup. The dream is for the show to follow a similar path as the Imelda Marcos-inspired musical “Here Lies Love” to Broadway.
Anthony Maddela is the Southern California Correspondent bringing attention to Fil-Am artists, designers and chefs.
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